PIPE: WHALE - EFFIGY, CATALINA ISLAND, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:6251 | Color: Brown |
| Material: Stone | Maker: Indigenous people of Catalina Island |
| Original/Reproduction: Original |
PIPE: WHALE-EFFIGY, CATALINA ISLAND, SOUTHERNCALIFORNIALength: 4”Width: 1”Height: 1 ¼”Weight: 4.7 ozThis is the SECONDunique effigy pipe collected thus far from Santa Catalina Island!A gorgeouslycarved, whale-effigy pipe from the Two Harbors area of Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California.Uncovered along asand/gravel area sometime in the late 1800s, this beautiful artifact has beenin one Santa Monica’s family’s personal... collection since that time. Descendants of the collector assured me ofthe provenance of the artifacts.This item as wellas a host of other stone tools, polished rocks and decorative bowls wereacquired from this collection several years ago.The pipe shows anelongated type of stylized whale with a mouth hole at the front with a raised smokehole on the dorsal area.Artifact has soil abrasionstreaks/discoloration. Bottom has abrasionscratches. Minor ding/nick at tail end. Extraction marks inside smoke bowl visible. (Over the yearsduring my Field Guide books series research I have seen verysimilar styles of Catalina whale effigies of which most are in privateCalifornia collections.) Almost 30 milesoff the southern California coast, Catalina Island juts out of the ocean like asleeping dragon.For centuries the original native islanders were in controlof soft stone quarries from which they carved decorative pipes stone mortarsand other small, decorative stone items that were traded to mainland peoples.Rarely did the recipients of these beautifully carved itemssail to Catalina, for the islanders were a strange lot-- people who conversedwith demons.By the time Spanish explorers stopped by to say hello, theworshipping of a frightening sun god was in full swing. These sailors also recorded seeing young mentake part in a shamanistic ritual where they drank sea water boiled with atoxic root. They also smoked strangeleaves in stone pipes which led to hallucinatory visions. Its proximity tothe “Two Harbors” bizarre ritualswitnessed by the Spanish leads to the suspicion of its actual useA fine andwonderfully carved pipe that may be part of an ancient, long-time ceremonypracticed by the mysterious Catalina islanders.A rare and specialartifact!COA available as well as COMBINED SHIPPING.
